My Review of Dexter's 6x04: "A Horse Of A Different Colour"

Written by Lauren Gussis
Directed by John Dahl

Dexter (re Gellar/Travis): “You think he’s using God as an excuse to kill?”
Brother Sam: “People use God as an excuse for a lot of things. Just because he believes in some crazy bullshit, doesn’t mean his faith isn’t as real.”

The more this show delves into the religious theme, the less innovative it seems to be and while this episode had some interesting moments, it’s arguably one of the weakest the series has produced and felt sadly a little too filler for my liking.

Travis and Gellar are nothing if not desperate for attention. The display in public with the four horses and Nathan’s body parts was definitely a way of getting their apocalyptic message across and similarly, this episode only continued to see that they were taken seriously as villains too.

I don’t think there was a single person who watched this episode who didn’t guess the poor waitress that Travis ended up on a date with wasn’t going to make it out of the episode alive. Not only did Travis sleep with her but once again, he allowed Gellar to get him into orchestrating an elaborate death for her, complete with bloody fish and a swarm of locusts for dramatic effect.

Deb did the best she could with trying to save the poor girl from her doom but sadly, no-one on her team were savvy to realise that the waitress had been booby trapped into dying. Religious connotations or not, it does seem like Gellar is a fan of a certain movie franchise from the last decade with his methods of death, doesn’t it?

Another positive is that Dexter is now on both Gellar and Travis’s scent. He spotted Travis at the crime scene and saw the look of faith on his face when the waitress died. Travis really does seem to be embracing the kills he’s becoming responsible for and that was despite his own begging that Gellar spared his date. It’s also making me dislike Travis all the more, which is probably wise for the narrative as well.

Of course as both Travis and Gellar both continue to represent how people can use faith to commit monstrous acts; it’s still refreshing that Brother Sam continues to be a beacon that perhaps some monstrous people can actually change. I had reservations about him but after this episode, I actually do believe he’s a changed man and so does Dexter.

Brother Sam didn’t have to stay with Dexter at the hospital when Harrison was brought in (especially considering that Deb and Jamie were there) but I’m glad he did though. I loved the scenes where he opened to Dexter about his own dark past more than the commentary on people abusing religion but as usual, I get worried when Dexter encounters someone who he can actually be honest with.

On this show, it’s never really ended well. Both Lila and Miguel ended up turning on Dexter and Lumen herself ended up having to leave once she had gotten rid of her own Dark Passenger. I dread to think to an extent that the more time Dexter spends with Brother Sam or even opens up to him that there will be some bad consequences. God help Brother Sam if he has the misfortune to attract either Gellar or Travis’s attention in the remaining episodes of the season.

As for the Miami Metro – it seemed a lot of people were caught doing stupid things this week. Quinn and Angel getting high while on duty were just annoying. I mean, I expect that sort of crap from Quinn but Angel really should know better and I’m getting a little tired of seeing him giving in to Quinn’s constant needling as well. Quinn really should go and do one as well.

Then there was Masuka and Ryan as well. He was stupid to show her things from evidence but she was even more stupid to actually try and sell the mannequin hand online. Is that girl trying to get herself fired or is there more to it? I have to admit that I don’t think Ryan’s fascination with past season big baddies is a coincidence but I did feel sorry for Masuka though, considering that he does actually seem to like her and she just used him.

Last but not least – how many more times do we have to see Maria acting like a bitch towards Deb? Look, Maria, just accept the fact that Deb is the new Lieutenant and try not to piss off Matthews because it’s looking more and more likely that you’re heading for a fall. I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of this series, Maria does lose her job. She’s certainly doing herself no favours at the moment.

As for Deb’s handling of the press – I loved it. Look, swearing might not be professional but Deb isn’t a political animal and she doesn’t mince her words but she has a heart of gold and I think her attitude is great because the reaction she got clearly demonstrated that the public have faith in her. Maria might have been great with handling press in the past but Deb is definitely someone who would inspire more confidence.

Also in “A Horse Of A Different Colour”

Deb mentioned to Dexter that the horse antics reminded her of the Ice Truck Killer and Ryan wanted to see stuff in relation to Trinity. It can’t be a coincidence that the show’s most acclaimed arcs are being reopened in a way, can it?

Dexter: “Body parts. This spectacle makes me think of -,”
Deb: “- Your brother.”

Harrison got struck with appendix problems halfway through the episode. It was definitely in character that Dexter did some research on it.

Dexter: “Some kind of message?”
Deb: “Another one? Jesus, how much does this fucker have to say?”

Gellar (re waitress): “Okay, I got it, she’s pretty.”
Travis: “Who?”
Gellar: “The waitress you’ve been staring at but we really have to stay focused.”

Travis admitted to his date that his parents died when he was fourteen and that Lisa practically raised him since then. There’s also a theory that Professor Gellar is Travis’s version of Harry as well.

Masuka: “I’m such an idiot, thinking you were actually into me.”
Ryan: “I was. I am.”

Quinn (to Angel): “Dude, get your big fucking sausage hands off me.”

Mike still seems to be a bit prickly in this show but he was useful in deducing that the acts with the snakes and the horsemen were from the book of Revelations.

Dexter: “Kill number three. It’s official, he’s a serial killer.”

Chronology: Picks up from where “Smokey And The Bandit” left off.

I was disappointed in this episode. “A Horse Of A Different Colour” had it’s moments but it felt like there was too much padding and some rather uninteresting characters moments for the episode to really stand out. I hope this isn’t a sign for the rest of the season because as visually gory as the killings are, the show needs to step up a gear.

Rating: 6 out of 10